Tosca

This masterwork of Italian opera was first performed at the NNTT in September 2000. Tosca has become part of the NNTT repertory, and been performed here several times. This will be the first repeat run in six years, since 2003. Antonello Madau Diaz's stage direction is very much of the orthodox school, and there is a beautiful gravity to the production. This dramatic work will be performed by singers who have played the leading roles in the major opera houses of Europe. For this latest production, the main roles will all be sung by singers making their first appearance at the NNTT. It will also be the NNTT debut for conductor Frédéric Chaslin. With so many new faces, anticipation will be running high.

SYNOPSIS

The setting is Rome, which is under Austrian control, on June 17, 1800. The artist Cavaradossi is arrested on the charge of sheltering the republican Angelotti, who escaped from prison. The chief of the secret police Scarpia, who intends to take Tosca for himself, tortures her lover Cavaradossi in front of Tosca and demands that she yield herself to him in exchange for the artist's life. She agrees to Scarpia's demand, successfully receives his promise to order a mock execution of Cavaradossi, and obtains a safe-conduct pass for her lover and herself. She then suddently snatches a knife from the table and stabs the police chief to death. At dawn, what is supposed to be a mock execution is carried out, but...